Gaza war: Alarm over Israel's detention of 70 medics at Kamal Adwan hospital

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Twenty-seven Palestinians were killed, and others were injured in a new Israeli bombardment of two houses in the center of Rafah city in the Gaza Strip by warplanes.

The homes in the southern part of the Strip are crowded with dozens of residents due to the wave of displacement, as many Gazans move to live in houses of their relatives amid the lack of adequate shelter centers.

Palestinian media outlets report that the occupation army has been continuously shelling the Jabalia camp in the northern Gaza Strip for hours.

Cairo announced on Wednesday evening an increase in the daily fuel supply to the Gaza Strip from 129,000 liters to 189,000, following an agreement with Israel, implemented since Tuesday.

Head of Egypt's State Information Service, Diaa Rashwan, said: "Since Tuesday, humanitarian and relief aid trucks from Egypt have been passing through the Rafah crossing to the Kerem Shalom crossing, as per the agreement with the Israeli side, in addition to the Al-Ouja crossing, as was the case previously."

He added, "This will facilitate and expedite the delivery of trucks to Gaza, increasing their number to about 60 to 80 trucks daily (without specifying the previous number of trucks)."

Rashwan also mentioned, "An agreement was reached to increase the daily fuel supply to the sector from 129,000 liters to 189,000, in addition to two trucks of household gas, which were indeed delivered on Wednesday."

The Egyptian official clarified, "Since the start of aid delivery to our Palestinian brethren in Gaza, the volume of medical aid has reached 3,866 tons, food supplies 22,799 tons, water 13,936 tons, along with 222 tents and tarpaulins, plus 5,073 tons of other relief materials, 48 ambulances, and the entry of 2,678 tons of fuel during the same period."

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) announced on the "X" platform that at least 228 Palestinians have been killed in the agency's shelters since October 7th.

🔺#WestBank 271 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli Security Forces, including 69 children - deadliest year for Palestinians killed in #WestBank since @UN began recording casualties.

🔺#Gaza At least 288 people in @UNRWA shelters have been killed.https://t.co/AD8IMoVm0e pic.twitter.com/TExoJp3KeZ

— UNRWA (@UNRWA) December 13, 2023

Media sources report that at least 20 Palestinians were killed in "intense" Israeli airstrikes on Rafah, a southern city in the last few hours.

The city of Rafah has seen a significant increase in its population, now sheltering 530,000 internally displaced persons who have sought refuge there amid Israel's intense bombing campaign.

On Wednesday, Israel launched a series of strikes throughout Gaza. One strike targeted a health center in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza, associated with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, according to the Palestinian news agency Wafa.

A strike on a school in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan area, which was serving as a shelter for displaced people, resulted in six deaths and numerous injuries. Wafa also reported that Israeli airstrikes impacted a building near the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, which was housing displaced individuals.

US National Security Adviser Sullivan is currently in Saudi Arabia for discussions on Gaza, ahead of his planned visit to Israel. This trip was not publicly announced by the White House prior to his departure.

In his meetings with Saudi officials, Sullivan is focusing on "broader diplomatic efforts to maintain stability across the region and prevent the Israel-Hamas conflict from expanding," a US official told Al Jazeera.

The meetings are also expected to address "efforts to deter ongoing Houthi attacks against international commercial vessels in the Red Sea," according to the same official.

At the Global Refugee Forum organized by UNHCR, Qatar announced a $50 million pledge to support refugees and displaced individuals in Gaza.

Qatar’s Minister of State for International Cooperation, Lolwah Alkhater,  revealed plans for funding 100 university scholarships in Qatar for students from Gaza.

Today, Qatar 🇶🇦 pledged $50 million at the #GlobalRefugeeForum organized by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees @Refugees 🇺🇳 in response to the increasing humanitarian crisis in the occupied Palestinian territories 🇵🇸.

The pledge is aimed at refugees, displaced people,… pic.twitter.com/LPMgFcdmaI

— لولوة الخاطر Lolwah Alkhater (@Lolwah_Alkhater) December 13, 2023

A group of Biden-Harris administration staff, including political appointees and civil servants, has scheduled a multi-faith vigil at 6:30 pm on Wednesday outside the White House, advocating for a ceasefire in Gaza.

In an email statement, the group, named the Administration Staffers for Ceasefire, denounced the violence: “The Administration Staffers for Ceasefire coalition condemns the brutal October 7th attacks on Israeli civilians and the subsequent overwhelming response by the Israeli government that has killed over 18,000 innocent Palestinian civilians in Gaza.” They also stated, "There is no justification for intentionally bombing hospitals, shelters, water supplies, religious sites, or schools.”

The event will feature a reading of a letter by Josh Paul, a former official at the State Department who left his position due to disagreements with the administration’s policy on the war.

The Biden administration has put on hold the sale of over 20,000 M16 rifles, manufactured in the US, to Israel due to concerns regarding violence by settlers in the West Bank, according to a report by Axios.

Israel had requested these rifles with the intention to arm civilians in villages near Gaza, Lebanon, and Syria. However, US officials, as mentioned in the Axios report, indicate that the delay is linked to worries that Itamar Ben Gvir, the far-right Israeli minister of national security, might distribute the firearms among settlers in the West Bank.

US President Biden has openly called for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reform his far-right government, stating that its current composition "is making it very difficult” to advance towards a two-state solution.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby has reaffirmed the United States' unwavering support for Israel, despite President Biden's recent criticisms of Prime Minister Netanyahu's government.

Following Biden's remarks on Tuesday, which said Israel is losing support due to the "indiscriminate" bombing in Gaza, Kirby addressed the media, stating, "The president yesterday reflected the reality of global opinion, which also matters. Our support for Israel is not diminished."

Ahead of Thursday's European Council meeting, Doctors Without Borders (Medecins Sans Frontieres, or MSF) has urged European leaders to stop the indiscriminate bombing of Gaza.

The NGO's statement urged, “In the next 48 hours, you can either continue to issue vain calls for the respect of international law & protection of civilians or exercise your unique position to convince the State of Israel to stop the indiscriminate bombing of the Gaza Strip.”

The statement also asked: “When the guns fall silent and the true scale of devastation is revealed, will the [European Council] and all European leaders be able to say they did all they could to stop the bloodshed?”

Ahead of the meeting between European Heads of State, we have a message for each European leader:

We implore you to do whatever is in your power to protect the lives and dignity of Palestinians trapped in Gaza and prevent further abhorrent bloodshed...

— MSF International (@MSF) December 13, 2023

Twenty-four faculty members from the University of Manchester's sociology department have urged the university to cut its ties with Israeli academic institutions and divest from firms linked to Israel's defense industry.

In their statement, the staff highlighted, “We are all witness to Israel’s ongoing mass killing of Palestinians, assisted and armed by the UK government. The bombardment of Gaza is the latest, horrific phase of 75 years of Israel’s expulsion, occupation, dispossession, brutalisation, humiliation, incarceration without trial including of children, torture, maiming, and killing of Palestinians.”

They specifically requested the termination of the University of Manchester's joint research fund with Tel Aviv University, pointing to its involvement in weapons, surveillance technology, military strategy, and operational theory research.

The group also advocated ending an exchange program with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, citing its hosting of Israel’s army intelligence training program, Havatzalo, and its surveillance activities in occupied East Jerusalem.

The academics also called for the university to cut ties with the Graphene Engineering and Innovation Centre, GKN Aerospace, and Haydale, all of which are connected to Israel’s defense sector.

They also scrutinised the University of Manchester's relationships with various donors, urging the institution to divest from HSBC, Siemens, and “all other companies who invest in Israeli weapons, military technologies, and the means of Israeli apartheid”.

In his first face-to-face meeting with the families of roughly a dozen US citizens held hostage in Gaza, President Joe Biden expressed his condemnation of Israel's actions to date.

The meeting, held at the White House and attended by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, comes amid heightened tensions. The Biden administration has identified around eight Americans currently detained in Gaza.

Biden's meeting follows his critique of Israel's “indiscriminate bombing” on Tuesday. 

Israeli sources report that approximately 135 hostages remain in Gaza.

An opinion poll among Palestinians published on Wednesday has shown a rise in support for Hamas, as the Gaza Strip continues to reel from Israeli shelling, as well as an overwhelming rejection of President Mahmoud Abbas, with nearly 90 percent saying he must resign.

The survey was conducted from from November 22 to December 2 among 1,231 people in the West Bank and Gaza and had an error margin of 4 percentage points. In Gaza, poll workers conducted 481 in-person interviews during a weeklong cease-fire that ended December 1.

Demand today for Abbas' resignation stands at 92% in the West Bank, 81% in the Gaza Strip: https://t.co/T2dMcJBEKV pic.twitter.com/ILmxGmS3Fm

— Khalil Shikaki (@KShikaki) December 13, 2023

Khalil Shikaki, who ran the poll, said that Gaza residents are more critical of Hamas than those in the West Bank, that support for Hamas typically spikes during periods of armed conflict before leveling out.

The Israeli opposition leader, Yair Lapid, said that the Palestinian Authority will "never take control" of the besieged and war-hit Gaza Strip, despite suggestions by the US that post-war Gaza could be governed by the PA's Mahmoud Abbas.

In a series of tweets on X, Lapid argued that the discussion of Abbas governing Gaza was created by Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu as a way to fight against an "unworkable idea".

"The answer is that Netanyahu is doing what he has been doing all his life: inciting and lying and producing hatred," Lapid wrote.

Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said UNRWA-linked infrastructure in Gaza also has not been spared in the bombardment.

"I was horrified by images yesterday of an UNRWA school being blown up in north of Gaza," he said at the Global Refugee Forum.

People in Gaza "feel abandoned by the international community", he added.

The Israeli army said it targeted Hezbollah posts inside Lebanese territory earlier on Wednesday.

Witnesses and officials in the country said that the Israeli army struck Lebanese territory in the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Lebanese militant group said it had carried out four strikes on Israeli military positions this afternoon, with injuries reported.

The health ministry in Gaza said Wednesday that Israeli forces have opened fire at hospital rooms, raising fears for the safety of 12 children in paediatric care.

"The occupation (Israeli) forces have tightened the siege and the targeting of Kamal Adwan hospital, firing at patient rooms and courtyards," ministry spokesman Ashraf al-Qudra said in a statement.

"We fear the death of 12 children in paediatric care who are already deprived of milk and are without life support equipment."

Qudra said the Israeli forces were also targeting Al-Awda hospital and tightening the siege of the facility, "depriving it of water, food and electricity".

Forces were also "preventing the wounded and sick from reaching" the hospital, he added.

The spokesperson for the Secretary General of the United Nations has expressed concern about the fate of The New Arab reporter Diaa al-Kahlout, who was detained by Israel on December 7.

Kahlout, the Gaza bureau chief of TNA's Arabic-language Service Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, was forcibly taken from his home in Beit Lahia, where he was assaulted and stripped to his underwear amid a mass arrest of men in the neighborhood by Israeli forces.

Read more here.

Palestinian women, children and babies were reportedly shot at by Israeli forces at "point-blank" inside the Shadia Abu Ghazala School in the al-Faluja area, west of the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, eyewitnesses said, as reported by Al Jazeera.

The Qatari broadcaster said it had obtained exclusive video and images showing bodies piled up inside the Shadia Abu Ghazala School.

"The Israeli soldiers came in and opened fire on them," a woman at the scene said.  "They took all men, then entered classrooms and opened fire on a woman and all the children with her.

The head of the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) on Wednesday said the agency's ability to render services in war-torn Gaza was on the verge of collapse after more than 130 staff were killed in the enclave.

"The entire humanitarian response heavily relies on UNRWA's capacity," said Philippe Lazzarini. "It is now on the verge of collapse." 

Qatar has condemned Israel's decision to confiscate Palestinian lands in  the Silwan neighbourhood of east Jerusalem, in order to build an air train, in a new statement on Wednesday.

The Foreign Ministry in Doha said that the move is a "flagrant violation of the principles and provision of international law, as well as relevant UNESCO resolutions."

The ministry went on to urge the UN Security Council to "shoulder its responsibilities to oblige Israel to stop its measures aiming at changing the historical and legal status of the city of Jerusalem.

The ministry further stressed that such moves will only hinder the possibility of a two-state solution.

Statement : Qatar Strongly Condemns Israeli Decision to Confiscate Palestinian Lands in East Jerusalem#MOFAQatar pic.twitter.com/j4KaaeZeiv

— Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) December 13, 2023

The German government will carry out a series of additional aid measures to support the civilian population in and from Gaza, a foreign ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, adding that several ministries will work together to do so.

"This includes several relief flights that will take place before Christmas," the spokesperson said during a regular news conference, adding that a flight operated by Germany's air force is scheduled to depart on Saturday to Egypt.

The aim is to deliver incubators and ventilators for Egyptian hospitals treating infants from Gaza. Next week, further aid flights are set to deliver tents and other relief supplies for people in Gaza who have lost their homes.

The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees warned on Wednesday that the people of Gaza were "running out of time and options" as Israel's brutal war that has killed over 18,600 people grinds on.

"They face bombardment, deprivation and disease in an ever shrinking space," Philippe Lazzarini told the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva, adding that Gazans were "facing the darkest chapter of their history since 1948, and it has been a painful history".

The United States and the United Kingdom on Wednesday imposed a fourth round of sanctions on individuals in Turkey and elsewhere linked to Hamas, the US Treasury Department said.

The sanctions target eight individuals who "perpetuate Hamas’s agenda by representing the group's interests abroad and managing its finances," the Treasury said in a statement.

"Hamas continues to rely heavily on networks of well-placed officials and affiliates, exploiting seemingly permissive jurisdictions to direct fundraising campaigns for the group’s benefit and funneling those illicit proceeds to support its military activities in Gaza," said Brian Nelson, under secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Several of the Hamas officials targeted were based in Turkey, including one of the group's key financial operatives there, Haroun Mansour Yaqoub Nasser Al-Din, the Treasury said.

Israel's foreign minister said on Wednesday that agreeing to a ceasefire in Gaza at this stage would be a mistake, and that Israel will continue its war on Hamas whether or not it has international support.

"Israel will continue the war against Hamas with or without international support," said Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. "A ceasefire at the current stage is a gift to the terrorist organization Hamas, and will allow it to return and threaten the residents of Israel."

At least 18,608 Palestinians have been killed and a further 50,594 injured in Israeli strikes on Gaza since October 7, Gaza's health ministry confirmed in a statement on Wednesday.

US National Security advisor Jake Sullivan will trave to Israel on Thursday and Friday, where he will meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as Israeli President Isaac Herzog, the White House said in a statement.

Much of the war-hit and besieged Gaza Strip was hit by heavy rain on Tuesday, worsening the conditions of those sheltering in make-shift camps in the territory.

The Israel army continued its aggression in the West Bank city of Jenin for the second day in a row, carrying out a large-scale invasion of its refugee camp.

Confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinians occurred in the eastern part of the city, which turned a number of homes into military points and launched a campaign of arrests among citizens, the Palestinians official news agency Wafa said.

The army imposed a complete siege on the neighborhood and closed all its entrances with military vehicles and bulldozers that destroyed the infrastructure and stalls.

Israeli soldiers are still carrying out a large-scale invasion on Jenin refugee camp, reminding that on November 9th a massacre happened in the camp with at least 10 killed and the camp's homes partially destroyed.

Right now it's been two days of constant destruction, mass… pic.twitter.com/h4nwdGwAod

— Mariam Barghouti مريم البرغوثي (@MariamBarghouti) December 13, 2023

A Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) official has urged US President Joe Biden to call for an immediate ceasefire in war-battered Gaza following his comments on Israel losing global support over its indiscriminate bombing of the territory.

Hussein Al-Sheikh, the PLO's Secretary-General, said Biden should be "putting forward a comprehensive political plan based on international legitimacy and international law, ending the occupation and establishing an independent Palestinian state."

#US President Biden's statements yesterday must transform into actions, starting with calling for an immediate ceasefire and putting forward a comprehensive political plan based on international legitimacy and international law, ending the occupation and establishing an… https://t.co/Z8K0kfiGck

— حسين الشيخ Hussein AlSheikh (@HusseinSheikhpl) December 13, 2023

The health ministry in the Gaza Strip said on Wednesday it had exhausted its supply of children's vaccines, warning of "catastrophic health repercussions".

The announcement came more than two months into Israel's brutal military onslaught in Gaza as international aid organisations have warned about the dire conditions in the besieged Palestinian territory.

The ministry did not specify which vaccinations had run out.

The health ministry also urged international institutions to deliver urgently needed vaccines "to prevent disaster".

An incident in the vicinity of the Bab al-Mandeb Strait separating East Africa from the Arabian Peninsula was reported early on Wednesday by the United Kingdom Marine Trade Operations (UKMTO).

Meanwhile, two US officials told The Associated Press that two missiles fired from territory held by Yemen's Houthi rebels missed a commercial tanker loaded with Indian-manufactured jet fuel near the strait.

UKMTO WARNING 006/DEC 23

INCIDENThttps://t.co/a6eYax4Zi0#MaritimeSecurity #MarSec pic.twitter.com/4nv0f7jgg3

— United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) (@UK_MTO) December 13, 2023

The Marshall Islands-flagged tanker was traveling north toward the Suez Canal in the Red Sea, satellite tracking data analysed by The Associated Press showed. The vessel had been coming from Mangalore, India, and had an armed security crew aboard it, according to data transmitted by the ship.

The Houthis have not claimed the attack.

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday backed imposing sanctions on "extremist" Israeli settlers responsible for attacks on Palestinians in the West Bank.

"I am in favour of sanctioning those involved in the attacks in the West Bank. They must be held accountable. This violence has nothing to do with the fight against Hamas and must stop," the European Commission president told EU lawmakers.

The United Nations humanitarian office said on Wednesday that Gaza faced a "public health disaster" following the collapse of its health system.

"We all know that the health care system is or has collapsed," said Lynn Hastings, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

"We've got a textbook formula for epidemics and a public health disaster," she added.

Pope Francis on Wednesday renewed his call for an "immediate" ceasefire in Gaza and pleaded for an end to suffering for both Israelis and Palestinians.

"I renew my appeal for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire," the leader of the world's more than 1.35 billion Catholics said during his Wednesday audience.

"May this great suffering for the Israelis and the Palestinians be over," he said, urging the release of all Israeli hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

At least 20 Palestinian civilians were killed and dozens were injured at dawn on Wednesday, after Israeli  aircraft bombed various areas in Khan Younis, south of the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

The Israeli army reportedly targeted the Al-Najjar family in the Qizan Al-Najjar area, south of Khan Younis, Wafa said, killing four people.

Two children were killed in a shelling which hit the Al-Amoudi household in the camp.

Nine Palestinians, including children, were also killed when Israeli forces targeted a house of Miqdad family in the Al-Amal neighbourhood, west of the city.

Many more neighbourhoods and household were also targeted by Israeli forces in Khan Younis.

Israel's military said 10 soldiers were killed amid fighting in northern Gaza on Tuesday, including a colonel who had commanded a forward base for the Golani infantry brigade.

The statement, issued on Wednesday, updated an earlier statement which had put the latest one-day death toll at eight, among them a lieutenant-colonel who had commanded a Golani regiment.

According to the Israeli army's official account, the forces were conducting sweeping operations in the Shuja'iya neighborhood, where it encountered gunfire from inside a house towards it, and then an explosive device was detonated.

The soldiers returned fire, and during the process of repositioning and taking their positions, they separated into two groups.